The Thinkening Blog

This article is basically a slightly modified version of the script for my short video
tutorial demonstrating the FREEprogram, Auslogics Disk Defrag. That
video can be viewed at the end of this article.

As you use your computer, bits and
pieces of your programs get moved around on the hard drive. This
process is called fragmentation. Using a utility called a disk
defragmenter will put those pieces of your programs back where they
belong, so

your computer can find them faster. This will increase
your computer's operating speed.

Windows already comes with a utility
for defragmenting the hard drive, but it's slow compared to other
defragmenters. Auslogics Disk Defrag, which I use on my own computer,
is much faster and seems to me to do the job better. Also, in Windows
Vista, the graphical interface was removed, so using Auslogics Disk
Defrag lets me see what's going on while running the defrag process.

Installing the program is a pretty
straightforward process. Just follow the steps onscreen, and the
program will be installed in less than a minute.

Once the program is installed, you'll
notice that the interface is pretty simple and easy to understand. In
the settings menu, on the defragmentation tab, check the boxes next
to the two options that are available. I always leave the cpu usage
option at the 'Normal' setting. Restart the program if prompted.

On the main program window, you'll see
a drop-down box that lists the drives that can be defragmented. I
usually start with the C: drive, as this is where the majority of
programs are installed, so defragmenting this drive will provide the
best performance boost.

Once you're ready to start, click next
and the defragmentation process will begin.

There is a graphical representation of
the files on the hard drive and they are color-coded to show their
current state. The most important thing to notice here is the red and
blue files. Red ones are fragmented, blue ones are defragmented, or
optimized. You can watch as the program scans all your files,
identifies the fragmented ones, and moves them to right place on the
hard drive.

If you haven't defragmented your hard
drive in a while, the first time you run this program, the process
may take some time. If you get into the habit of defragmenting
regularly, like once a week or so, you'll find that the process is
quite a bit faster than the initial run through.

Once the defrag process is complete,
you'll have a read-out showing the number of scanned files, how many
were fragmented and how many the program was able to defrag, and what
percentage of scanned files were fragmented. The lower the
percentage, the better shape everything is in.

Doing this on a regular basis is one
thing you can do to help keep your computer running at top speed.

Here is the short video tutorial about how to use Auslogics Disk Defrag.

*As always, I
cannot be held responsible for any damage that may occur to your system because
of the use of this or any other programs mentioned on this website. Make sure
you know what you're doing BEFORE you make any changes or use any other programs
on your computer.